Update Tuesday, October 19 11:00 a.m.

Hello!

Kathy is still in the hospital, working on a 5th day without a fever. When they finish the course of Vanco, the antibiotic they are giving her, she will be discharged (Thursday or Friday).

 

We hope the chemo can resume on Monday.

 

Be Well.

 

JD

Update for Saturday, October 15

Hi! Megan here again. We just have a quick update today because it was a relatively uneventful day. At least it has been so far. I feel like I need to add the "so far" because we never know what it's going to be like five minutes from now.

Mom made it through the day (so far) with no fever. She also got a unit of blood and a bag of platelets. She had a little more energy today and even went for a walk with Dad around the hospital floor.

So that's about it for today. Keep your fingers crossed, knock on wood, sacrifice a small goat--whatever it takes so that Mom can have another good day tomorrow.

I'm just kidding about the goat. Any animal would work, really.

No, I'm kidding. Please don't hurt any animals on Mom's behalf.

Love,

Megan

Friday the 14th, 3:30 p.m.

Greetings Again.

 

Not much change to report.  Kathy had a good morning, but then the fever came, spiked, and departed.

 

They drew more blood in two places, so it's at least 2 more days in the hospital as they try to determine what it is that they are treating.

 

We can only hope.

 

Be well.

John

Thursday, 10/13/11 1:00

Of course, since Kathy's journey seems to be an endless series of detours, yesterday's post was, unfortunately, premature. 

 

I left my notes at the hospital, so the sequence is muddled, but the detour is a familiar one.

 

Early in the evening the chills started.  Soon the temp started to rise.  The blankets came off, ice packs were positioned, and the temp spiked somewhere between 104&105.  A Doctor ordered a different antibiotic but Kathy was hesitant because of the side effects.  It (Vacon for short) can trigger a redness or flushing of the skin, so it is referred to as Redman's whatever.  Unfortunately (I can type that word with, unfortunately, great dexterity) a good deal of itching, especially of the scalp, accompanies the flushing.  Kathy was also a bit weary of the reality she blames on no one--only trial and error strategies are available in a game with a fairly clear ending.  But after a healthy discussion between Kathy and her night nurse and the pharmacist (just two of the many, many wonderful people who provide remarkable care) is was clear that the new anti-biotic might be able to take out a Bug that was resistant to the antibiotics used so far.  Kathy said yes, did itch, and somewhere in the sequence the temp started to drop.

 

(I can't do justice to Kathy's phrasing of her acceptance of the new drug--in essence she shared with the nurse and pharmacist that her maiden name was Ruddy, which is only fitting for a person who is about to turn red.  Laughter released the tension in all of us)

 

I decided to get some supper (it was 10:30) and lock up the house and return for the night to keep her company in case she got an itch.  Oops.  Rephrase that.

 

Since Kathy is on the floor used for moms and newborns, there is a chair that converts to a bed.  As with all such dual purpose furniture, it came equipped with the requisite iron bar that was positioned perfectly to inflict pain across the middle of the back.  Fortunately, I could skrunch or skooch towards the end and slept fairly well until 4:40. 

 

I slept more at home and then went over with the paper.  We went through some of that and then had a very good meeting with Lacy, who coordinates palliative care for the hospital.

 

I thank all of you for your interest and support.  I will post again.

 

John

Wednesday, October 12

Hi, everyone. Megan here. I just talked to Dad, and he asked me to post a brief update.

There isn't much to report. Mom had a relatively uneventful day. All cultures remain negative, and so far no fever today. If the fever stays away, she will hopefully be discharged tomorrow. And hopefully she will be able to get more chemo at that point.

That's all I have to report. Thanks for keeping her in your thoughts and prayers.

Love,

Megan

Tuesday, Oct. 11

Treatment was scheduled for 10:00.  Yesterday went well, but we only had time for 1 unit of blood (another detour--antibody stuff). The second unit was scheduled for this afternoon.  May still happen tonight.

 

Dr. Kumar first needed to visit because the final culture for TB (taken Oct. 1 I believe) showed positive. However, an Infectious Disease Center follow-up determined around 2:35 that there was no TB.  Her journey is on a road that only has detours.

 

Kathy started Saline around 10:30 and then the anti-nausea bag, but chills were growing and a fever took over.  The Vidaza bag was stopped at 11:15, only 8 minutes finished out of a 30 minute bag.

 

The short of it is that the fever was strong and tenacious at by 12:30 Dr. Kumar said she would be best served in the hospital.  Kathy ended up in a private room around 3:30, wearing a mask again to keep her as germ-protected as possible. 

 

They can't pinpoint the cause of her current fever, and aren't sure that pneumonia was the culprit in the Sept. 25-Oct. 3 hospital stay.  So here we go again.

 

Kathy felt better by the time she got to the hospital room, especially compared to how she felt between 11 and 2:30-ish.

 

She lost a lot of fluids when she vomited in the early afternoon but is happy to have cups of ice chips.

 

Sometime in the midst of all this, Kathy wondered out loud: "Am I bringing this (fever) on myself?"  I blame the mask and her sickly state on the fact that I heard her words to be "My brain is on the shelf."   We had a good laugh at my confusion, and she graciously pointed out that I often say "What?" to something she says even when there is no mask or fever in sight.

 

Around 1:45, with a fever around 105 and a stomach still unpredictable, Kathy struck up a conversation with a lady across the room (most of the patients had long since finished) and found a lot of common ground (the lady was in brother Rob's grade school class).  An unusual time and place to make a new friend.

 

For now, visits won't work.  Even our 3 kids will stay away.  It's a germ thing.

And my ability to return phone calls seems to be diminishing from a high point of unreliable to a lower point of undoable. I plan to spend more time at the hospital.

 

However, I will try to post something every day and hope that will keep you in the loop. 

 

Be well.  Stay the course.

 

John

Monday, Oct. 10 11:00

Kathy is in the Mankato Clinic Infusion Center getting a 2 hour saline solution for dehydration issues (she vomited in the Dr.'s office) and a 15 minute anti-nausea solution (she was very weak this morning).  Then a 15-20 minute Vidaza injection.  If timing allows, she will move over to the Andreas Cancer Center for a transfusion (not sure if it's both platelets and blood or just the blood).  That's 4-5 hours, either today or tomorrow. 

 

I'm going back with a book or two so I can read something with her from time to time.

 

One day at a time.

 

John